The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

So it's possible to respect what a film did for film-making and a genre while also not really liking it, and that's kind of how I feel about this movie. I know that many filmmakers were influenced by this movie, and horror probably would not be what it is without it and without Tobe Hooper. The problem is, I'm not a huge Tobe Hooper fan. The only film of his that I've seen that I genuinely enjoy is Poltergeist.

So what is this film about? I mean, the description is pretty much in the title itself. A group of college-age friends is traveling together when they pick up a hitchhiker. They begin to be more and more afraid of the man as he cuts himself and eventually one of the friends. They kick him out of the van and continue towards their destination. They eventually encounter a family of cannibals, including the hitchhiker, and begin to fall victim to their whims.

This movie introduces the face of the series: Leatherface. He's a chainsaw-wielding simpleton who wears a mask made out of human skin. He's somewhat menacing as a character, he definitely has the brute strength going for him, and you know, being chased with a chainsaw isn't a walk in the park, but I've never found the strong silent type of villain to be all that frightening. It could be the mental health worker in me, but he's obviously delayed and a product of a family with some fucked-up motivations. He seems to be the workhorse for the more sinister family members. To me, grandpa is scarier than he is, because he raised this family... and also he looks like a frightening raisin.

The root of my dislike of this film, however, lies in its main characters. They're very dislikable and don't uniquely distinguish themselves, so I honestly don't give a fuck when they start getting slaughtered. They're unnecessarily cruel to the hitchhiker just because he's a little off, so like I don't really blame him for wanting to kill them. This is my primary problem with a lot of Hooper's films. All the main characters are kind of pricks who treat people who are different than them poorly, but I don't care about them enough, either way, to even be cheering for the villain. I haven't explored this series in too much detail, so I plan to do so in the future. But long story short, it's a film I'm not overly crazy about, but I can appreciate that it inspired lots of filmmakers and influenced the horror scene forever.

Netflix available? DVD only

Hulu available? No

Xfinity available? Yes, for a fee

Rating: 3/5